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It's not about becoming a toursity place or a vacation destination but there are attractions that could bring-in 750k+ visitors a year as regional/semi-national draws. Adding those would complement and shore up numbers at the NHOF. It started with the NHOF so resting on laurels is senseless. Surely if one can make a soda pop museum interesting, there is hope for a financial/money museum, etc...especially one with a chance for a jackpot at the end of the tour...now that would be interesting....I might be a repeat customer for that one. It'd provide a few hours of relaxation from the Kings Mountain Casino.
What would those be?
What could Charlotte add that would say to a family, lets spend our vacation in Charlotte NC?
The difference between the WOC and NHOF is the product. Coke is the most well-known brand in the world, no matter what corner of the earth you go to everyone knows what Coca-Cola is., it's like comparing apples to oranges. If Nascar had the world wide acceptance that Coke does, then their Museum would do better. Coke is an iconic image to millions and millions of people worldwide, Nascar is not.
That is the problem with the NHOF. Most people would definitely find it more interactive and more engaging than the World of Coke (which is well done for a soda museum). Especially kids/teens/young adults because the museum receives solid reviews. But the niche Nascar perception, poor marketing and lack of other attractions to incentivize people to at least give it the once over hinders the visitation numbers.
Charlotte needs to add a nearby attraction downtown like a world class aviation museum that would easily become a regional/national draw that isn't so niche, probably doubling or tripling attendance at the NHOF as a by product to take advantage of NC's historical relationship with air flight.
We have an aviation museum. Ever been? It's not world class, but it's getting better.
There's no real way to put one downtown. I just went to the USAF museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. We dont have the free space downtown for something like that.
What could Charlotte add that would say to a family, lets spend our vacation in Charlotte NC?
The difference between the WOC and NHOF is the product. Coke is the most well-known brand in the world, no matter what corner of the earth you go to everyone knows what Coca-Cola is., it's like comparing apples to oranges. If Nascar had the world wide acceptance that Coke does, then their Museum would do better. Coke is an iconic image to millions and millions of people worldwide, Nascar is not.
true.. but I've never had a desire to go to the Coke facility when I go to ATL.
Zoo's... Aquariums... Carowinds.. and a dense urban core with more festivals would help attract visitors.
We have an aviation museum. Ever been? It's not world class, but it's getting better.
There's no real way to put one downtown. I just went to the USAF museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. We dont have the free space downtown for something like that.
No, I haven't been but heard it was nice. I think co-locating that aviation museum uptown with a broad expansion and marketing effort would've been better a approach than sort of having it sit oddly out near the airport; many people here don't know it exists and not in heavy traffic footprint. If DC can house umpteen museums surely Charlotte can replace two or three parking lots with a new museum.
No, I haven't been but heard it was nice. I think co-locating that aviation museum uptown with a broad expansion and marketing effort would've been better a approach than sort of having it sit oddly out near the airport; many people here don't know it exists and not in heavy traffic footprint. If DC can house umpteen museums surely Charlotte can replace two or three parking lots with a new museum.
Probably could all we need is for the federal government to cover 70% cost of building and operating those museums, like they do with the Smithsonian. Plus people who go to aviation museums like being out by the airport to see the day to day operations, hearing the radio chatter on the speakers, seeing the NC Air Nat. Guard Planes on the tarmac, etc..
What could Charlotte add that would say to a family, lets spend our vacation in Charlotte NC?
The difference between the WOC and NHOF is the product. Coke is the most well-known brand in the world, no matter what corner of the earth you go to everyone knows what Coca-Cola is., it's like comparing apples to oranges. If Nascar had the world wide acceptance that Coke does, then their Museum would do better. Coke is an iconic image to millions and millions of people worldwide, Nascar is not.
I do think a world class Carolinas Aviation Museum (uptown) properly planned and marketed could easily surpass 500k+ as a regional/national draw. You have to remember 40 years ago Atlanta didn't have the GA Aquarium, World of Coke, CNN Center, etc. We're not talking about a Disney-style week long vacation but a lot families do 2-3 days and just the NHOF isn't incentive enough for people to consider it. It so much about the product but how it's marketed and positioned in which Charlotte and the NHOF have failed miserably.
Probably could all we need is for the federal government to cover 70% cost of building and operating those museums, like they do with the Smithsonian. Plus people who go to aviation museums like being out by the airport to see the day to day operations, hearing the radio chatter on the speakers, seeing the NC Air Nat. Guard Planes on the tarmac, etc..
That's cool too (current location) but at least market/bundle it so people know about it. What does the federal gov have to do with building an attraction that could potentailly support itself unlike the NHOF? Anyway I was talking about land to support the museum.
Do they market any of the stuff in Charotte as bundle, etc? I did a few while in Seattle as bundle...Space Needle, Museum of Flight, etc but hat was a while back.
I do think a world class Carolinas Aviation Museum (uptown) properly planned and marketed could easily surpass 500k+ as a regional/national draw. You have to remember 40 years ago Atlanta didn't have the GA Aquarium, World of Coke, CNN Center, etc. We're not talking about a Disney-style week long vacation but a lot families do 2-3 days and just the NHOF isn't incentive enough for people to consider it. It so much about the product but how it's marketed and positioned in which Charlotte and the NHOF have failed miserably.
I think it's unnecessarily difficult to have an aviation museum that's not on airport property. The last time I went to CAM there was a fly in of WWII planes. That couldn't happen if the museum wasn't where it is.
BTW-one of the celebrities at that event who is an aviation buff happened to be Bobby Allison.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Originally Posted by Big Aristotle
It's not about becoming a toursity place or a vacation destination but there are attractions that could bring-in 750k+ visitors a year as regional/semi-national draws. Adding those would complement and shore up numbers at the NHOF. It started with the NHOF so resting on laurels is senseless. Surely if one can make a soda pop museum interesting, there is hope for a financial/money museum, etc...especially one with a chance for a jackpot at the end of the tour...now that would be interesting....I might be a repeat customer for that one. It'd provide a few hours of relaxation from the Kings Mountain Casino.
What is needed is a regional tourist board to tie events & locations together & market them.
Tie the wineries together into a tour. Then market it on Kathie Lee & Hoda's hour. Pair the NASCAR Hall of Fame with something (maybe the little train & truck museums in the area?)
Concord pulls people in for races. Kings Mountain pulls people in for the triathalon. No one is coordinating marketing.
The casino would be a huge help to the whole area for tourism. It probably won't happen soon, since McCrory called the legislature back September 3rd.
Charlotte is a living and working city, not a visiting city, no single attraction or a couple of paying attractions will change that. Think of every city that people choose to visit, NYC, Washington, Atlanta, Miami, Boston, etc.., what do they have that we do not? It is very simple, free attractions, you can spend days simply walking around looking at different things that are free of charge. In Charlotte it's $50 for the whitewater, $30 for NASCAR, $10 here, and $8 there. It is the reason why the HOF will always be teetering on the red line. There is simply not enough for people to say, lets choose to go on vacation to Charlotte. The attendance will most likely level out but never at level where it makes any significant money. The first time it will make money is only after the banks write-off their loans, like they did with the Whitewater center.
Aside from DC because of the Smithsonian Institutes which our tax dollars fund a large part of, the rest of those cities don't necessarily have a lot of free attractions. In the downtown area of Atlanta, only the King Center is free. However, most of those cities have an allure or history of their own which generate visitors apart from other reasons (business, conventions, etc.). Even though the HOF preceded the Levine Center, I think it might would have done better within the vicinity. The parking lot adjacent to the Gantt Center would have been a good spot, or the Goodyear lot across from the Charlotte Observer building.
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